Projects

CAIBEX: the projects aims to study the exchanges between the coastal area and the open ocean, mainly through the upwelling filaments. I implemented a numerical around Cape Ghir (Morocco), able to reproduce the main characteristic of the filaments. In summer 2009, I participated to the 3rd leg of the CAIBEX cruise during three weeks aboard R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa.

Publications

Below is the list of my publications in peer-review journals, followed by descriptions of the main papers.

Seasonal variability in the Canary Island region

I did this work during my stage at the University of Las Palmas for my DEA in Modeling, with the help of my colleagues Evan, Pablo and Javier. We used the ROMS-1D numerical model to represent the annual cycles of temperature and salinity, and then of the biological variables, such as phytoplankton concentration, chlorophyll, or oxygen. Our conclusions is that the external forcing (heat fluxes, wind, etc) drive the biological cycle, through their influence on the mixed layer: in summer, the negative heat flux induce a deeper mixed layer and an injection of nutrients in the euphotic layer.

Seasonal cycle of temperature south of Gran Canaria island obtained with the ROMS-1D model.

High-resolution climatology of the NE Atlantic using DIVA

We create a new climatology in the NE Atlantic Ocean with the help of the Diva software. The difference with previous climatologies is twofold:

we worked with a new data collection (several sources of data) and

the method, which provides improvement with respect to previous climatologies.

Francis Machín helped me with the database construction and with the physical interpretation of the results, while my colleague at GHER contributed by improving Diva.

Annual temperature and salinity fields created with Diva at a depth of 300 m.

Generation of the Cape Ghir upwelling filament

In this article we examine the mechanisms of generation of the upwelling filaments near Cape Ghir (NW Africa, about 31°N). To this end, we implemented the ROMS model with climatological forcing and performed process-oriented experiments. We showed that the filaments can be explained by

the conservation of potential vorticity in the upwelling jet and

an injection of positive vorticity near to the cape.

Comparison between satellite and model Sea Surface Teperature for the period 4-6 September.

Spare time

Photography

I enjoy taking pictures when I visit a city for a conference or a meeting, even if it's only for a 1 or 2 days. I also had the chances to live in the Canary Islands during several months, where I could photographs wonderful landscapes. The Sart-Tilman campus also offers a variety of nice places and view points. Check my picture page here.

Trail-running

Trail is like running, the difference is that you usually run on rough and hilly paths. When the distance is longer than a marathon, it is called ultra-trail. Sometimes I try to combine photography and trail, which results in pictures of places no always easy to reach. Check my trail page.

Sports

Apart from the trail, I also like to run, ride my bide, swim, play basketball, volleyball, or just go to the gym and lift weights.